Power
by LilyRose Blue
Summary: What happens when power shifts? Who will win out? Husband or Wife? Character Death


_**Power**_

Power was something that Gemma Teller-Morrow had become intimately acquainted with over the years. This was a woman that had gone out of her way to make sure she was always in a position of power. And what better way to be in power than to have the ear of someone powerful?

She started off as the wife of John Teller, the founder and president of SAMCRO. And when the man she adored appeared that he was losing himself she turned to Clay Morrow. He was a ruthless member of the First Nine that was sure to ascend to the presidency if anything ever happened to her beloved husband.

But Gemma always had her eye on the future and Jackson Teller was the future. From the day that Jax took his first breath she had dreamed that one day her son would lead the club. First and foremost because she wanted to give the world to her son. And as president of the club he could make whatever future he wanted for himself. However, it would be disingenuous to pretend that Gemma didn't have her own selfish reasons for wanting her son to be president of SAMCRO. It all went back to the power. If you can't be married to the president of the club...being the mother of the president wasn't a half bad second choice.

Everything in her world had been going to plan until Clay got back out of prison. There was a serious shift in personality in the man that she had shared her life with for the last 16 years. It wasn't that Clay was a different person. No, the man had always been ruthless to the core. However, that killer instinct had always been pointed away from the club and his family. Somehow she had missed the signs that things were changing. Perhaps Clay had hidden his true tendencies from her? Or was it more likely that Gemma had been too arrogant to see that she wasn't the only one manipulating the situation.

In hindsight she could look back to the moment where her husband had began to lose control. And in truth she had said it to herself in that moment that he was losing control just like John had so many years ago. There was some genetic weakness in men that made them unable to think rationally. John's weakness made him a whining coward that ran away from his responsibilities. Clay's weakness made him someone that killed without impunity. It made no difference in the end...weakness was weakness and it would be Clay's undoing just as weakness had been JT's undoing.

Gemma stood in the window of her office watching Jax hugging Opie. The boy she loved as a son had suffered so much loss at the hands of her husband. She could tell Jax and Opie of her suspicions but that would only put them in danger. Clay had already planned to kill Opie once and failed. Gemma had no doubt that Clay would kill both boys if he was able to get the better of them.

No...Gemma would have to take care of her beloved on her own. How had she shared a bed with this man for so long and never known the truth? Had she known the truth in the back of her mind and just ignored it?

None of that mattered anymore...Clay was a liability not only to the club but to her family. He was a liability that would have to be eliminated. She donned a pair of sunglasses, picked up her purse, and left the office.

Clay was in the boxing ring with Tig when he saw Gemma about to leave for the day. He stopped the fight and walked over to her. "You are leaving the office early aren't you?"

"I don't have the stomach to be here right now. Piney was right...getting involved with drugs was a terrible idea. How many people have to die before you realize that, Clay?" asked Gemma.

"I am not talking to you about this!" bellowed Clay. He grabbed her arm and said, "Don't second guess my decisions. Especially decisions that aren't any of your business! I am sorry that the old man is dead...but it was a club decision and sometimes there are unintended consequences."

"Unintended consequences? Oh I don't know about that honey. How strange that out of the two people you are the most afraid of one is dead and the other has received a death threat. I don't believe in coincidences, Clay."

"Watch your mouth, Gemma! You are getting very close to saying something you will regret!" yelled Clay grabbing her face violently.

Jax jogged over and said, "Hey!" He put himself between Clay and Gemma.

She shook her head. "You are pathetic. You are working so hard to save for our life after retirement that you don't even realize that there might not be one left if this keeps up. We had a bag of heads thrown at us, Armando is dead, Piney is dead, and Tara's life has been threatened. You don't see anything wrong with all of this, Clay? We are fucking drowning here! I don't know who you are but when you find my husband...you tell him to find me."

Gemma climbed into the Cadillac and looked at her face in the mirror. She could see Clay's fingerprints on her face. Gemma smiled slightly and took off toward Jax and Tara's house. She was a woman on a mission and would not be deterred. If Clay killed Piney then he was cleaning house and it wouldn't be long before he moved his sights to Tara.

Gemma whipped into driveway at Jax and Tara's house and headed into the house. She spotted the prospect, Rat, and said, "Get lost!"

"Y-y-yes, ma'am," stuttered the prospect. He grabbed his cut and walked out of the house giving Gemma and Tara some privacy.

Tara said, "I guess that you got my message from this afternoon. I was going to leave town and take the kids with me until things cooled off here. But with what happened to Piney...I can't leave Jax alone. He's really messed up right now."

She had a seat at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in her hands. It looked as if the younger woman had not slept the previous night.

Gemma had a seat with Tara at the table. "I am not here to tell you not to leave. I want you to leave. In fact, I want you to pack the boys up and pull out of town now. The further away from Charming you are the better it will be for you."

Tara nearly choked on her coffee in shock. She had been prepared for Gemma to tear her a new one for even considering the possibility of leaving town. "What?"

"You heard me. I want you to pack up and get the hell out of Charming before sundown. I'll stay here with you until you are ready to go. It isn't safe for you and the children here. But before you go I need a favor from you. The letters...I need them. Apparently, I am missing out on some history that I need to know."

The younger woman's mind raced trying to figure out what Gemma's angle was at the moment. But there was an urgency in the way that she spoke that sent shivers up Tara's spine. "I am going to call Jax."

She got up to get the phone.

"No! Jax doesn't need to know what is going on. I am going to take care of it. I just need you to trust me. I need you to trust that you are my daughter and your are the mother of my grandchildren. I need you to trust me when I say that you need to get the hell out of dodge. Did you ever let Piney read those letters?" asked Gemma.

Tara stopped and turned to look at Gemma. "No, I never let Piney read the letters. I just gave him a synopsis of what was in them. He was really eager to get his hands on them, but I wouldn't..."

She walked back over to the table and stood in front of Gemma. "Are you saying that Piney wasn't killed by the cartel?" asked Tara suddenly feeling even more worried.

"I am saying that I need those letters and I need for you to leave town. I don't want you telling anyone where you are...you need to be incognito." Gemma stood up and put her arms around Tara.

"Gemma, you trusted me when you were raped. I helped you kill the caretaker at your father's house. You should know that you can trust me. Just tell me what is going on and I will give you the letters," Tara said.

Gemma walked to the front door and locked it so that Rat couldn't just walk in and overhear their conversation. "I think that Clay killed Piney because he thought that Piney had the letters. Things at the cabin had been looked through. If cartel was responsible they would have just killed Piney. Since Piney didn't have the letters...you are going to be Clay's next stop. That can't happen. I am not going to let that happen. So I need you to give me the letters and leave town."

"We've got to call Jax and tell him about what is going on," said Tara with a look of horror on her face. She hadn't trusted Clay as of late but this was too much for her to process.

"No!" hissed Gemma.

"Why not?"

"Clay just killed a man he's been friends with for almost 40 years. Do you think that he wouldn't kill my son, too?" Gemma asked incredulously. "Jax is a hot head and if we tell him what is going on he might run into something that could get him killed."

Tara sank into the nearest chair feeling her knees go weak. Her mind raced trying to figure out the right thing to do. Tara wanted to trust Gemma but she was scared of making the wrong decision. "Would you really turn on Clay?" asked Tara boldly.

"In a heartbeat. No one is more important than my son. I will take care of Clay but I need those letters. I need to find out what he is so desperate to keep secret. We had an affair but that is no reason for him to kill Piney. There has to be something that I am missing." Gemma tried to suppress the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was no worse feeling for Gemma than realizing she had been played.

Tara nodded her head at a drawer. "There is a key for a storage unit in that drawer. I hid the letters in a box. I'll have to go with you to find the letters. I tucked them away on purpose so that they would be hard to find. But I can just tell you why he's so desperate to get the letters. John Teller was going to end the gun business with the Irish. Are you sure that we shouldn't tell Jax?"

Gemma walked over to the drawer and searched for the key. She found it with relative ease and turned to look at Tara. "I know Clay better than anyone knows Clay. If he is backed into a corner...he will come out killing. I won't have my son or you and the kids in the path of that. I will handle Clay in my own way. This has to be between us, Tara. I am trusting you to keep this a secret."

Tara nodded. "Okay, I won't say anything to Jax."

"Go and pack for you and the kids. Then call to tell Jax that you are going to leave town after all. I need you and the children safely out of Charming before I put my plan into motion," said Gemma.

"You have a plan?" asked Tara.

"Of course, I have a plan, sweetheart. When you fail to plan...you plan to fail. One of the few good things that my dearly departed mother taught me," said Gemma.

Tara walked out of the kitchen and looked back with a shiver. The eerily calm look on Gemma's face unnerved her.

* * *

><p>Gemma knocked on Elliot Oswald's front door that evening and waited impatiently for him to answer. She glanced at her watching estimating how much time she had for everything to work out the way she intended.<p>

Elliot opened the door with a shocked expression. "Gemma?" asked Elliot. He looked around not seeing anyone else with her.

"Can I come in, Elliot?" asked Gemma.

Elliot nodded a little dumbfounded. Gemma hadn't been to his home since Clay and the rest of the boys had been released from prison. He closed the door once Gemma was in the house. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, I need to keep a clear head right now. Elliot, I need a favor," said Gemma having a seat on his couch.

"Why am I not surprised? Clay doesn't mind using you to get favors out of me. Although, I am sure he'd think twice about that if he knew what we were doing while he was in prison."

Gemma flashed a small smile. "He'd kill the both of us, but I am not here to ask a favor for Clay. I am the one that needs a favor and it is a big one. Is anyone home?"

A look of concern settled on Elliot's face and he had a seat next to Gemma on the couch. He took her hand in this and said, "No, we are alone. What's wrong, Gemma?"

"I need a favor and no matter what happens afterward you've got to keep your mouth shut. I can't tell you what is going on. I just need you to do this favor for me..."

Elliot reached out and rested a hand against her face. "I'll do anything for you, Gemma. You know that."

* * *

><p><em><strong>8 months ago...<strong>_

_**Gemma was roused from a deep sleep by her cell phone ringing repeatedly. She groaned in pain as a massive headache was starting to set in. Gemma had a hangover that surely rivaled any one she'd ever had in the past. She sat up in the bed and looked around for her purse. Gemma grabbed her cell phone and asked, "What?"**_

_**Tara let out an audible sigh of relief hearing Gemma's voice on the other end of the line. "Gemma! I was starting to get worried about you! Where the hell are you? You didn't come back to the hotel last night. You didn't call me. I was seriously getting worried that I needed to call the police or something. I already called Opie. He said that he was on his way up here to find you," said Tara in a near hysterical voice.**_

_**Gemma and Tara were in Oregon for Nate's funeral. Gemma had taken the death of her father hard. As soon as the funeral was over Gemma had abandoned Tara and her grandchildren at the hotel. She found a bar in another hotel and got as drunk as she could manage. For the life of her she couldn't remember much of the night. Gemma ran a frustrated hand through her hair and said, "I am sorry for worrying you like that, darlin. I just needed to do some thinking on my own, but I am alive and well. And I'll be back at the hotel soon enough. You have my word. Call Opie and stop him before he wastes a trip all the way up here. Kiss my grandbabies for me." Gemma hung up without waiting on Tara to reply.**_

_**Tara was bound to ask a lot of questions Gemma didn't have answers for at the moment. Gemma ran a frustrated hand through her hair and looked at the man next to her.**_

_**"Looks like you've got people worried about you, Gemma," said Elliot Oswald laying there with only a sheet covering the nude lower half of his body. He had quite the hang over himself, but he was obviously in better shape than Gemma. He sat up in the bed and leaned in kissing her softly. Elliot's hand went up to caress her cheek. "Are you feeling any better than you did last night?"**_

_**Gemma said, "Mornin, I'm sorry for the phone waking you up so early. I thought that with the children Tara would have been much too busy to start looking for me this early in the morning." She smiled after the kiss. She shook her head. "I feel...numb and I guess that is better than feeling pain right now. Thank you for coming up here to be with me. I'm not good at leaning on other people, Elliot."**_

_**Elliot chuckled and said, "I think we are a little beyond morning. It is 2:30 in the afternoon. And you don't have to thank me for being here, Gemma. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now."**_

_**She chuckled slightly. "No wonder the girl is looking for me. I've been out of contact for 24 hours. I just needed to be somewhere else. I needed to forget all of the bad shit in my life right now. For the past two years I have been drowning, Elliot. And it never seems to get any better."**_

_**Elliot wrapped his arms around Gemma and gave her a strong hug. He had held her last night as she cried about her dead father, but he could tell that she was crying about so many other things. Things that she couldn't bring herself to put into words.**_

_**She smiled slightly looking at the gold chain he was wearing. Gemma ran her fingers over the cool metal and fixed it so that the cross was hanging in the front like it was supposed to. "You are a good man, Elliot Oswald."**_

_**"I was thinking...why don't you send Tara and the grandchildren home. You and I can stay here for another couple of days. You need to blow off some steam or you are going to hurt someone." He lifted up her hand and glanced at her bruised knuckles. Elliot lightly kissed her knuckles. "You are cute when you are inciting a barroom brawl." He moved his kisses back up to her lips.**_

_**Gemma's eyes fluttered closed a moment giving it some genuine thought. She sighed a little and shook her head. "There is no way that Tara is going to leave me here on my own. Especially, not after I disappeared for a day. And Opie isn't going to go for it either. He's the head man looking after things in Clay's absence. Which includes me. Staying here longer would just make him come up here looking for me. Or worse tasking the chapter in the area to come looking for me. It'd be bad news to catch the President's old lady creeping around with another man."**_

_**Elliot nodded and said, "I figured as much, but you can't blame a man for trying to keep you to himself for as long as he can. When do you go back to Charming?"**_

_**Gemma said, "The day after tomorrow. I am supposed to clear out my father's room at the nursing home. Today was supposed to be my day to recover from the funeral." She laughed softly. "But I can definitely stay with you tonight. I just have to make an appearance at the hotel so that Tara knows that I am okay. Besides it will be good seeing her and the grandchildren. I don't know what I would have done these past months without them. Jax and Clay have never done prison time at the same time."**_

_**Elliot leaned back against the headboard and pulled Gemma's body with him so that her back was resting against his chest. "Then I will take the time I can get." He interlaced their fingers together and looked down at her hand.**_

_**"It is nice being here with you. It is like I can forget the outside world at least for a little while. Here it is just you and me and nothing else. I wish this could happen more often, but Charming is all knowing," said Gemma.**_

_**"We don't have to meet in Charming. Once every couple of weeks we could sneak away just the two of us and go somewhere no one knows us and just be ourselves."**_

_**Gemma considered his proposition and more than anything she wanted to agree. "How does that play out? Eventually someone is going to figure out what the hell is going on. Both of us going missing from Charming at the same time?"**_

_**Elliot lightly grabbed Gemma's chin and turned her head so that she was facing him. "I've only got a couple more months with you. I am not about to waste them being scared of what people might suspect. Of what they might know...I don't care. I want you more than I am afraid of the consequences."**_

_**Gemma was taken aback by his intensity. Elliot was never what she would have considered a demanding man. She stared into his eyes momentarily before nodding slightly. "You men...are always thinking with the wrong organ and it gets you in trouble."**_

_**Elliot nodded his head downward. "That isn't what I am thinking with." He took her hand and placed it over his heart. "You think I'd risk my life for sex? Don't get me wrong you are absolutely amazing, but I've long since passed the age when I'd risk my life for a piece of tail. I care about you, Gemma. Bailing the boys out of jail and giving them my blessing to skip out on that bond wasn't about me showing loyalty to the club. It was about me showing loyalty to you."**_

_**Gemma felt the soft thump of Elliot's heart under her fingers. "I am going to go get a shower," said Gemma breaking away from Elliot's intense look. She headed into the bathroom quickly.**_

_**Elliot smirked to himself. It was not often that you could rattle Gemma Teller-Morrow. Elliot got dressed and took a set of keys from his suitcase. He set them on the bed along with a note and a map.**_

_***Just call this a place for the two of us. Gone to get coffee***_

_**20 minutes later Gemma walked out of bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body. She frowned not seeing Elliot. Gemma walked over to the bed and looked at the note. She smiled slightly looking at the map. She knew that area very well.**_

_**Gemma was brought out of her reverie by her cell phone ringing. She got up and grabbed the phone. "Hello?"**_

_**"Gemma, I tried to call off Opie. But he's already in town and on his way to our hotel. Wherever you are...it might be good if you get over here. He's worried and I know that it is my fault for calling him..."**_

_**Gemma cut her off. "It isn't your fault, sweetheart. I was irresponsible taking off like that and not checking in with you. I'd kick your ass for doing something that stupid. Tell Opie I'll be there soon enough. I've got some things to take care of."**_

_**"Alright, I'll see you soon Gemma." Tara hung up.**_

_**Gemma sighed and searched the room for her discarded clothing. She shook out the now wrinkled and alcohol soaked garments and started getting dressed.**_

_**Elliot walked into the room and said, "I don't expect to scare you off quite so easily. I picked up a late lunch for us from somewhere nearby."**_

_**She smiled slightly and said, "You didn't scare me off, Elliot. Tara called me because Opie is already in town. I've got to go and make my appearance before he has a duck. The weight of the world is on his shoulders. With the rest of the men in prison he has to be everything to everyone. I am sorry that I have to run off and leave you, but I will be back later."**_

_**Gemma grabbed her purse as she slipped on her shoes. She leaned up and kissed him. "I think you picked the perfect spot for the two of us to meet up. If I know that stretch of the county as well as I think I do it is just trees and a few cabins here and there..."**_

_**Elliot wrapped his arms around her and smiled. "That is exactly right. It is fairly quiet and secluded. Not many close neighbors. It is a good place for the two of us to go and be completely alone."**_

_**"I'll be back later tonight. I'll see you then?" asked Gemma.**_

_**"I'll be here, Gem. I'm not going anywhere..." said Elliot.**_

* * *

><p><em><em>Gemma sat in her living room in the dark. She was quite pleased as she looked around at the carnage. It looked as if an all out brawl had taken place in the room. Her face told the same story. She had dark bruises that were starting to form and she was cradling her arm that was certainly broken. Gemma's clothes looked ripped.

She waited there for what seemed like an hour before she heard Clay's motorcycle roar into the driveway.

Clay was relieved to see Gemma's car in the driveway. She had been gone all day and he was concerned that she suspected him of killing Piney. Clay was desperate to spin the story in his favor. "Gemma?"

He walked into the pitch black living room and fumbled for a lamp. When Clay finally managed to turn on the lamp he was stunned speechless seeing his battered wife. His eyes scanned across her bruised face and the awkward way in which she held her broken arm. "Gemma," gasped Clay. He walked toward her.

"Stop! Don't take another step," Gemma said in a forceful voice.

"Who did this to you?" asked Clay through clenched teeth. He slowly approached Gemma's side of the room. His eyes scanned the wrecked living room.

"You," responded Gemma simply as she stood up from the couch.

"W-w-what?" asked Clay in a confused voice.

Gemma pulled a .357 from her waistband. "You did this to me and that's why I killed you."

She raised the gun and fired two shots in rapid succession hitting Clay in the chest both times.

Clay stood there is shock for a second before his body hit the floor with a thud.

Gemma dropped the gun onto the floor and walked over to Clay. She kneeled next to his body as he struggled to breathe. "I wonder if this is how Piney felt?"

Clay tried to reach for Gemma but didn't have the strength to do it. And soon he was no longer breathing. His lifeless body laid on the floor amidst the wreckage.

Gemma had a seat next to his body and smoked a cigarette. She didn't want to call anyone until she was sure that he was dead. Clay couldn't be revived by some sort of miracle. He had to stay dead.

The time slowly ticked away and before she knew it 45 minutes had passed. Finally she was confident that he was dead. She crawled across the room to the cordless phone and called Jax's cell phone.

Jax answered the phone after a couple of rings. "Yeah?"

"Jax, I need you to come over," said Gemma in a weakened voice.

"What's going on?" asked Jax in a concerned voice. He could tell that something wasn't right.

"I'll tell you when you get here. I just need you to get here...and get here quick."

"I'm on my way," said Jax. He hung up.

Gemma dropped the phone on the floor and leaned against the couch waiting for Jax to arrive.

Ten minutes later she heard several motorcycles roaring into the driveway.

Jax and Opie came in through the front door with their guns drawn. Their eyes scanned the house and immediately fell on Gemma and then Clay's dead body.

"Is anybody else here?" whispered Jax.

Gemma shook her head and said, "No, it's just me..."

Jax put away his gun and rushed to her side.

Tig and Bobby came in through the side door ready to get the jump on any intruders but soon found that there weren't any. They walked into the living room just as shocked as Ope and Jax had been.

"I shot Clay...I think...I think he's dead," said Gemma in a shaky voice.

Opie put away his gun and went over to Clay's body checking for a pulse. He looked at Jax and shook his head.

Jax didn't need to ask what happened. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out. "it's okay...I am going to take care of this. Go...go clean yourself up..." He helped Gemma onto her feet.

Bobby saw how unsteady Gemma seemed. "I'll help her to the bedroom." He walked over and supported Gemma's weight.

Once Gemma was out of the room Opie said, "Shit...what the fuck are we supposed to do?"

"We make him disappear," answered Jax. _**  
><strong>_


End file.
